How to make quick and easy empanadas?

Question

How to make quick and easy empanadas?

Answer 1

EMPANADAS  

Shell:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tbsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup ice water

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Cut the shortening into the flour as though you were making a pie crust by working it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle dough with just enough ice water so that it will just hold together. Knead together briefly and allow to rest, covered about 10 minutes.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured board to circles about 3-4 inches in diameter.

Place a spoonful of empanada filling of your choice on one side of the circle. Moisten the edges of the circle with a small amount of water and fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle. Press the edges together to seal.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Filling:

1 medium sized onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tomatoes, peeled

2 cups cooked beef, chopped

1/2 cup beef stock

1/4 cup raisins

1 tsp vinegar

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic in hot oil until translucent.

Add meat, sauté 5 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes, stock and remaining ingredients.

Simmer 30 minutes.



OR

This is an easy recipe, lets see if I can make it sound that way.

Ingredients needed:

3 Pillsbury Ready Made Pie Crusts (or home made crust for 3 pies)



1 pound lean ground beef (can substitute any ground meat)



1 Jimmy Dean sausage in 5 inch tube (mild to hot is great) – OPTIONAL



1 bottle of catsup



Filling (Jigote)

In separate pots brown the ground meat and sausage thoroughly, breaking it up so it is crumbly, drain off any excess liquids when done.  In large bowl combine cooked meats.  Add enough catsup to coat the meat mixture.  Let cool.

Note:  Your meat mixture should not be runny and works better when it has been chilled for about two hours.  One box of Pillsbury crusts yields about one dozen empanadas, 3-4 inches in diameter.

Preheat oven to 325.

Making the empanada.

Pie crust



Small bowl of water



1 egg beaten



Pam (or any vegetable cooking spray)



Keep pie crust refrigerated until you are ready to use.  Cut out round circles with cookie or biscuit cutter 3-4 inch in diameter.  I use a drinking glass with a sharp edge.  Make sure you flour the surface where you will be forming the empanadas to avoid sticking.  Place enough meat mixture in the center of the pastry, using your finger wet outer edge of pastry with a little water and fold over.  Take a fork and press lightly around edge of empanada to seal.  Try not to puncture through pastry.  Brush lightly with egg wash and place on lightly grease cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Note from experience  

The filling is easy to make.  The worse part is that it can get real messy and is time consuming.  Children of all ages love to make empanadas.  We prepare the filling in advance and have an assembly line with someone forming the circles, someone filling them, and someone folding, crimping, and placing egg wash the empanadas.  

Let you be forewarned that as soon as they come out of the oven they are consumed.  Have catsup and hot sauce available to put on your empanadas.

Answer 2

Giant Empanadas

1 lb Ground beef

1 c Chopped onion

1 c Chopped green pepper

1 cn (14 1/2oz) whole tomatoes

With liquid, cut up

1 tb Chili powder

1 ts Ground cumin

1/2 ts Salt

1/2 ts Pepper

2 Unbaked pie pasties (9"

Each)

1 Egg yolk

1 tb Water

Sour cream, chopped fresh

Tomatoes and/or shredded

Cheese and lettuce for

Garinsh, optional

Instructions:

Cook brown beef with onion and green pepper; drain. Stir in tomatoes and

seasonings. Simmer for 15 mins. uncooked, stirring occasionally. Put pie

pastries on a baking sheet. divide filling; spoon half of filling on one

side of the pastry. Spread within 1"

Answer 3

Just buy a can of biscuits and roll them out to maybe a saucer plate size, one at a time, add your filling, be it sweet or savory, seal with water around the edges and crimp with fork. Poke holes on top with the tines of the fork to allow steam to escape, bake until golden brown.

Make sure the filling you choose is cooked, when you place them in the oven it will be only to brown the biscuit. Enjoy!!!

Answer 4

PINEAPPLE EMPANADAS  

6 c. flour

2 c. butter flavored Crisco

8 to 10 oz. Coke, at room temperature

FILLING:

1 (16 oz.) jar pineapple preserves

4 to 5 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 c. sugar

Bring filling ingredients to boil.

Mix flour and shortening together. Make sure shortening is well mixed. Add Coke, gradually mix well. Make dough into balls, according to the size of empanadas you want and press ball using tortilla press. Press around edges after filling has been added. Bake in ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees. Sugar the empanadas as soon as they are done.

Makes 4 dozen



OR

BEEF EMPANADAS  

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 lb. ground beef

2 lg. tomatoes, chopped

1 (3 oz.) can chopped green chilies

Bay leaf, drained

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. chopped black olives

For filling - saute onion in butter. Add beef and brown lightly. Add tomatoes, green chilies and bay leaf; simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 to 35 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf. Stir in olives.

PASTRY:

1 1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. shortening

4-4 1/2 tbsp. ice water

1 egg yolk

For pastry - in medium bowl, combine flour and salt. With pastry blender, cut in 1/2 cup shortening until well blended. Sprinkle with ice water; stir with fork until mixture holds together. Shape into a ball.

Divide pastry into 12 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 6 inch round. Place about 3 tablespoons filling in one half of each round; fold over other half.

Press edges together with fingers, to seal. Flute edges. Cut slits on top of each empanada. Brush with egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with salsa.



OR

EMPANADAS (APPLE)  

FILLING:

8 c. sliced apples

2 c. sugar

2 c. water

1 1/2 tsp. apples spice

3 tsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. butter

Filling: Bring all ingredients to boil for 45 minutes until apples are soft. Add cornstarch in 1/2 cup water to thicken. Add butter, cool before making empanadas.

DOUGH:

6 c. flour

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. apple pie spice

1 c. shortening

Warm water

Dough: Make dough like you would for flour tortillas. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Make balls, smaller than for tortillas, (smaller than a golf ball). Roll out to 4 inch diameter. Put filling in center, fold one side over. Press sides with fork to seal. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

OR

SAUSAGE EMPANADAS  

1 c. real butter

2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened

2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 lb. breakfast sausage, regular or hot

Paprika

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add salt and flour and mix well. Chill dough several hours or overnight. Remove dough from refrigerator and let it warm for 30 minutes or until it is no longer stiff. Roll out to 1/8" thickness on floured board. Cut into 3" circles. Place a 1" ball of raw sausage in each circle and fold dough over to form a "turnover". (NOTE: Sausage balls may have to be smaller if the dough circle will not reach over the ball.) Press edges of dough with a fork to seal. Sprinkle top with paprika. Prick tops with fork to allow steam to escape. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 24 empanadas. These can be frozen before they are baked. Freeze on a cookie sheet, then bag them. Take out only as many as you need at a time. Let thaw 20 to 30 minutes then bake

JM

Answer 5

Try this...

Quick and Easy Empanadas

This is such a simple recipe w/ just a few ingredients I almost always have on hand. It's a quick dinner w/ a green salad. You can double this easily for make ahead lunches.

time to make 45 min prep

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15 ounce) can fresh cut corn, drained

1/2 cup chopped onions

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese

1 cup salsa

2 (16 ounce) cans large refrigerated biscuits (I use buttermilk, and you may only use 1 and 1/2 cans depending on how full you make them)

DIRECTIONS

   1. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan adding the salt and pepper just before done.

   2. Let the beef cool.

   3. In a large bowl mix the corn, onions, cheese, and salsa, then add the cooled beef mixing carefully so not to break up all the cheese.

   4. Roll the biscuits out flat to about 2-1/2 times their size.

   5. Place approx 1/3 cup filling on one side of the center of the circle lengthwise.

   6. Fold the dough over the filling like a turn over and crimp the edges like a pie crust. Be careful not to tear the dough, and to seal the edges completely or your filling will come out! depending on how much filling is used will determine how many biscuits you will use.

   7. Place on slightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 till lightly browned.